Staff Report

There’s a reason the St. Augustine Prep baseball program is so good year after year and seemingly always in contention for a state championship. It’s because the Hermits keep attracting players like Alex Weingartner.

Weingartner put together one of the best seasons in South Jersey history — both as a hitter and a pitcher — and led the Hermits to a berth in the Non-Public A state championship game.

All Weingartner did was hit .495 with 46 hits, 46 runs scored, seven home runs, seven doubles, 36 RBIs and 21 walks. He also added 33 stolen bases, accounting for about a third of Prep’s team total in that category. As a pitcher, he went 6-1 with a 0.87 ERA, striking out 81 in 48 innings with a fastball that ran into the mid-90s and a devastating breaking ball. He allowed just 19 hits and nine earned runs all season, and for his efforts he was named the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year as well as first-team all-state.

He even out-did his older brother, Ryan, who went on to have an outstanding college career and now is playing minor-league baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization. Alex spent the entire season performing in front of various Major League Baseball scouts, and the Penn State University commit delivered every time. In the sectional semifinals, he hit a walk-off grand slam that kept St. Augustine’s season alive, and in the sectional title game he dominated CBA on the mound.

Then, in the state championship game he pitched seven strong innings against Delbarton, arguably the best team in the state. He didn’t even allow a hit after the third inning. Unfortunately, the Hermits lost that game, 4-1, in 10 innings. Fittingly, Weingartner ripped a single in what turned out to be his final high school at-bat.

“He’s the best baseball player I’ve ever coached. I say it all the time, but he’s just such an amazing person,” Hermits coach Mike Ney said. “I’ve seen him since he was a little kid running around chasing his brother. The young man he’s turned into — he’s a physical specimen out there and can make things happen at any moment.

“What he was able to do, with all the pressure on him, with all the eyes on him at all times, and to come out and empty the tank the last two games of the season — after hitting a walk-off grand slam to extend the season (in the sectional semifinals) — He’s just a phenomenal baseball player, and human being.”

“This is something I’ll carry with myself my entire career, just knowing I was able to try to live up to what my brother accomplished,” Weingartner said. “To see him being successful — I’ve always looked up to him and tried to do what he’s doing. (Playing for Prep) is something that I’ll never forget.”

— Staff Writer Dave O’Sullivan